Tuesday, November 09, 2010

D+P: What Exit Strategy? Just Quit Funding Those Groups

There are times when I swear that the CCCB's Development & Peace & the USCCB's Catholic Campaign for Human Development are in a competion for who can do the most spin while doing the least to actually quit funding groups that operate in ways contrary to authentic Catholic teaching. After reading this article & checking out the D+P summary report, I am willing to bet the farm on it.

As I said the other day, the proposals by the CCHD to go before the USCCB next week look more cosmetic that sincere (& the more I reread the document the more I believe I am right). Now from what I am seeing of the CCCB D+P summary report, it sounds like they hired the same group of people to work on both reports. Or at least the 2 authors/committees cooperated. Bluntly, the D+P stategy looks about as cosmetic as the CCHD's reforms. & about as sincere as well.

Both of these groups look like they are trying to use the good they do to justify the evil means they use to do it. Well, basic morality & ethics makes it clear, the end doesn't justify the means. even more so when some of those ends are just as evil as the means.

Maybe instead of trying to make cosmetic changes the Bishops conferences should throw the bums out & start from scratch. Not that I am holding my breathe for that to happen here or in Canada.

By Patrick B. CraineCORNWALL, Ontario, November 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP, or D&P) has developed an “exit strategy” to end “controversial” partnerships, according to a newly released summary report from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB).The new report is the result of a year’s worth of cooperation between the CCCB and D&P. While the report fails explicitly to acknowledge that D&P has funded numerous groups who advocate for abortion, contraception, and the homosexualist ideology, it nevertheless proposes what pro-life advocates have welcomed as some concrete and positive changes to the organization’s procedures. These include tightened funding protocols, and implementing a practice of contacting their partners’ local bishops. The report was delivered by the Ad Hoc Committee on Development and Peace at the bishops’ October plenary meeting. The committee was established last October at the bishops’ 2009 plenary assembly to evaluate D&P and guide its renewal through a reflection on Pope Benedict’s recent encyclical Caritas in Veritate. At their 2010 plenary, the bishops decided to establish a standing committee to continue the ad hoc committee’s work.The report summary explains that the new committee is aimed to help the bishops and D&P to "collaborate more closely on achieving their common goal, which is to help the world’s most vulnerable persons.”Jim Hughes, national president of Campaign Life Coalition, told LifeSiteNews that he hopes D&P’s commitment to serve “vulnerable persons” will include serving unborn children. “They are the ones now facing the greatest assault in the Third World,” he explained. “Many poor countries are facing intense economic pressure from wealthy governments to liberalize their abortion laws.”According to the report summary, D&P is “preparing protocols to ensure that organizations requesting future funding are fully aware that CCODP is a Catholic agency which adheres to Catholic principles.”These protocols will require prospective partners to “disclose any projects that they may be involved in which would contradict Catholic principles of respect for life.” The bishops have proposed a revision of D&P’s “Partnership Agreement” that “will reflect the obligation to respect life values and conformity with Church teachings.”Additionally, it says CCODP has developed and proposed an “exit strategy” for “the cancellation of any controversial partnerships.”D&P has drafted “proposed criteria on ethical issues for working with its partners,” which the summary says “will provide a ‘theological framework’ for CCODP activities.”D&P has also developed a “specific protocol” making it a “regular routine” for program officers to “establish contact with local Bishops [in the developing world], including visiting them and providing information on CCODP and its local partners.”The summary says these officers may also be in contact with the country’s episcopal conference and the local Caritas organization.The proposed documents are to be made public after they have been formally approved, a process they say will take several months because it involves changes to D&P’s by-laws.Hughes applauded the Canadian bishops for “outlining some important steps to change procedures at Development and Peace,” saying “they are obviously making a concerted effort to clean things up.”“We hope the bishops and CCODP understand that defending the unborn and the natural family is very much a high priority social justice issue, as the Pope made clear in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate – the very document D&P’s renewal is meant to be based on,” he said.In that encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that “respect for life ... cannot in any way be detached from questions concerning the development of peoples.” “Openness to life is at the centre of true development,” he said.

2 Comments:

The whitewashing now being done on Development & Peace (Canada) is comparable to the CCHD controversy in the US. A parallelism - support of pro-abortion groups. Likely, this same situation exists at other bishop conferences in Europe.

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About Me

Sono Italiano-americano. I am a member of St Joseph the Worker Roman Catholic Church. I am an advisor to Alpha Phi Omega & College Republicans at Loras College. I am a member of the Dubuque Co. Republican Central Committee. I have been involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement since 1974. For me the overriding issue of the day is defending the preborn & upholding their right to life. If we don't value life before birth, we devalue it after birth. Life is a gift from God. This is why I am a supporter of the work that Dubuque County Right to Life does in my area. & that is why I am politically active. Our nation's laws need to be changed to protect all from conception to natural death.